Daily News - March 6, 2007 - Tuesday
  • British doubles aid to Burma victims
  • EU wary of US idea for UN action on Burma
  • Thai national petroleum firm announces gas finds in Burma
  • Poultry sellers suffer after bird flu outbreaks in Burma
  • Malaysian Police Nab 108 Burmese Immigrants On Fishing Boat
  • Myanmar introduces e-govt system in new capital
  • Myanmar presents film awards for 2005



    • British doubles aid to Burma victims

    Telegraph, UK/Liberal Democrats, UK

    Britain is to more than double its aid to victims of repression inside Burma, the Government said yesterday, in a move certain to anger the dictatorship.

    The military junta, regularly rated as one of the worst regimes in the world, has been engaged in a major offensive in Karen state for two years, emptying villages to deny rebels of the ethnic minority Karen National Liberation Army popular support. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes, with around 3,000 moving to a makeshift refugee camp next to the border with Thailand.

    The Department for International Development (DFID) said it would give £400,000 this year to Burmese community groups working with internally displaced people on the edges of conflict areas, up from £200,000 last year. For the first time, it will also allow DFID-funded organisations based in Thailand to use its money across the frontier.

    Campaigners believe the extra cash would be better directed entirely at cross-border groups. "There are thousands of people who can't be reached from inside the country, particularly in conflict areas," said Anna Roberts, the acting director of the Burma Campaign UK. Nonetheless, the move is sure to fuel the junta's ire against Britain, which it blames for the country's woes despite it becoming independent in 1948.

    The move was welcomed by Andrew Mitchell, the shadow international development secretary, who recently visited Burma. While there he told the deputy foreign minister U Kyaw Thu that his country was a "pariah state" and that his fellow ministers were "bad and wicked".

    But Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

    "The Government must do more. We can’t let Burma off the hook again. Dishing out money to help people on the ground will do nothing if the root cause of the problems is not addressed.

    "It’s all very well announcing more aid for Burma but what is being done to pressure its Government to release political prisoners such as Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the death penalty, and stopping human rights abuses?

    "The British Government should also be putting more pressure on British businesses working with the Burmese regime and therefore helping this dire situation to continue."

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    EU wary of US idea for UN action on Burma

    EUobserver.com, Belgium

    BRUSSELS - EU states are wary of a US suggestion to push for speedy action on Burma at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with the UK saying the move is premature and Finland saying it is unrealistic and may not add value to existing international measures.

    Washington over the weekend requested through informal channels that the UNHRC holds a week-long "special session" on Burma in early April. The move could lead to a resolution mandating a "commission of enquiry" to visit the country and propose future action.

    UN commissions of enquiry are typically made up of senior ex-judges or politicians and reserved for grievous humanitarian problems, with one previous UN commission to Cambodia leading to the establishment of the Khmer Rouge court in May 2006.

    Burma - home to 50 million people - is rich in gas, oil and gems but its military junta rules a country where 40 percent of children are malnourished, ethnic minorities undergo forced labour and at least 1,100 political prisoners face torture, according to Amnesty International.

    The EU has historically taken a tough line on Rangoon: it is planning to renew a basket of arms, trade and visa-related sanctions against the regime when the issue comes up for review in May. Opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is still seen as a hero in Brussels.

    At the same time, the EU is looking for new ways to handle the junta. The then Finnish EU presidency last year let the Burmese foreign minister attend an EU-Asia summit in Helsinki in a meeting that produced only "rhetoric" on human rights and sparked protests from Burmese exile groups.

    EU diplomats say the European discussion on any fresh UN moves is just beginning, with the seven EU states in the UNHRC - Finland, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania - voting in Geneva en bloc on the basis of a common position established at EU27-level in Brussels.

    But early signs are not positive for the US idea, with the UK - a former colonial power in Burma - saying a resolution will probably have to wait until the recently-established UNHRC completes its institution-building phase at an unspecified time later this year.

    "The UK with its EU partners is ready to support any reasonable and effective proposal for the situation in Burma at the human rights council," a UK foreign office spokeswoman said. "But it's still very early days [for the UNHRC]."

    Finland is even more negative, saying an EU-tabled resolution would probably not secure the 16 votes required to get through the 47-strong UNHRC body and that Europe should wait until something drastic happens in Burma before going ahead.

    "A special session is meant to deal with urgent and acute situations, so it would be easier to argue for a special session if something dramatic happens, which of course nobody would wish for," one senior Finnish diplomat said.

    "The third committee resolution [a UN General Assembly resolution on Burma in November 2006] is quite good and it is at a higher level than the UNHRC. So I am not sure what value a UNHRC resolution could add to this," another Finnish diplomat added.

    Meanwhile, Germany, France and the Netherlands are playing wait-and-see for now. "There is obviously a human rights question that has to be addressed. We cannot be silent, but we are still studying this," a Dutch diplomat said.

    The EU is worried about "alienating" swing voters in the UNHRC and the UK is wary of openly backing the US in case it looks like "an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy against Burma" Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia director Brad Adams told EUobserver after briefing EU experts in Brussels last week.

    "There is an absolute international vacuum on Burma for now...[and] there will be no action at the [UN] council unless the EU pushes for it," Mr Adams said. "The EU should put forward a resolution not just for its own sake, but something with real teeth to it."

    UNHRC faces baptism of fire

    The UNHRC was set up in March 2006 to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which had faced criticism for focusing too much on Middle East issues and for letting member countries with flawed human rights situations at home seize control of the agenda.

    The US, despite its informal Burma proposal, has levelled similar criticism at the UNHRC, which since March has seen Islamic countries push through four "special sessions" on Israeli human rights abuses and which sees Burma's strategic ally, China, control significant voting power.

    The US boycotted the UNHRC last March in a move described as "stupid" by HRW's Mr Adams, but the NGO also has doubts about the institution's credibility. "If the human rights council can't handle a case like Burma then what is it for?" he asked.

    UN officials are already in defensive mode over the Israeli-heavy agenda. "It's easy to criticise, but it's premature," one contact said, adding "I wouldn't rule it out, but I think it's unlikely" on the chances of an UNHRC Burma special session.

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    Thai national petroleum firm announces gas finds in Burma

    Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand's national petroleum firm on Tuesday announced two successful natural gas wells in its M9 concession in the Gulf of Martaban, Burma.

    PTT Exploration and Production Co Ltd (PTTEP), in a report to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said two exploration wells drilled in the M9 concession, about 300 kilometres south of Rangoon, had discovered natural gas flows of up to 15 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD) and 30 MMSCFD, respectively.

    PTTEP President Maroot Mrigadat said the company will make plans to develop the natural gas in the area with the aim of starting production in 2011 or 2012 for export to Thailand.

    Thailand currently imports at estimated 9 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day from Burma, or about half of its natural gas supply which is primarily used to generate electricity.

    The natural gas is delivered from offshore reserves in the Gulf of Martaban by a submarine and overland pipeline system.

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    Poultry sellers suffer after bird flu outbreaks in Burma

    RANGOON (AFP) - Poultry sellers in Rangoon on Sunday reported a slump in sales following a fresh outbreak of bird flu, and said they were ready to close their markets as part of government efforts to contain the virus.

    Officials in military-run Burma on Friday confirmed that the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza had been found on a farm in the nation's biggest city, leaving consumers wary about consuming poultry.

    "My chicken sales are down about 30 percent," said Tun Tun, a 26-year-old chicken seller at a small market in downtown Rangoon.

    "Some customers don't want to touch the chicken. They don't even want to walk by my shop," he told AFP.

    An official at Rangoon's largest poultry market said that chicken sales had halved since the official announcement.

    "Within two days poultry sales declined about 50 percent because of bird flu," said the senior official, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

    "People are afraid because dead birds have been found," he said, adding that domestic chicken prices had fallen from 4,200 kyats (3.4 dollars) per viss (1.6 kilograms) to 3,200 kyats (2.6 dollars) within two days.

    The official told AFP that his poultry market was ready to shut down on the government's orders, and said that about 30 chicken markets had been closed near the Rangoon suburbs where bird flu was discovered.

    Government mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Saturday that 92 chickens and ducks in four Rangoon townships had tested positive for the H5N1 strain, and urged the public to report any dead birds.

    It said authorities were spraying pesticide to contain the virus, but did not reveal how many birds had been culled. A livestock official told AFP last week that 1,500 birds had been killed.

    The semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper reported Sunday that the livestock and veterinary department was restricting the transport of poultry and quarantining areas around the outbreaks.

    Authorities have said they believe wild birds may have carried the H5N1 virus to poultry farms, but dead crows, owls and sparrows found in Rangoon have all tested negative for bird flu.

    Burma had declared itself bird-flu free in September last year, after months without any new cases following an outbreak around the central city of Mandalay in March 2006.

    The H5N1 virus has killed around 167 people across the world since late 2003 through contact with infected birds, although no human cases have been detected in Burma.

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    Malaysian Police Nab 108 Burmese Immigrants On Fishing Boat

    Deutsche Presse-Agentur(dpa)

    Malaysian marine police detained 108 Myanmar (Burma) nationals believed to be attempting to enter the northern Penang state via a small fishing boat, reports said Monday.

    Local fishermen tipped off police, who intercepted the boat, which was meant for a maximum load of 10 people, said northern region deputy marine chief R Morgan.

    "Investigations showed all of them did not have valid travelling documents and had been at sea for 15 days," Morgan was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

    The illegal immigrants were all males aged between 12 and 52 years.

    "We are recording their statements to know their intentions of coming to Penang, and after this we will hand them over to the Immigration Department," said Morgan.

    He said that police were investigating the possibility that the immigrants were brought in by a smuggling syndicate.

    Malaysia has long attracted migrants, including those fleeing poverty, violence and persecution, from South-East Asian neighbours including Burma, Indonesia's Aceh province and the southern Philippines.

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    Myanmar introduces e-govt system in new capital

    People's Daily, China

    Myanmar has started to introduce a computer-based e(electronic)-government system in the new administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw to replace paper filing government work system, local Voice journal reported in this week's issue.

    Quoting the Myanmar Info-Tech, a technical supplier of the system, the report said the e-government system, which cost 12 million US dollars, includes Electronic Document Management System and Government Personal Management System, and is being implemented by the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications.

    The system not only inter-links government departments but also connects the Data Center established at the end of last year, the report added.

    So far, Myanmar has launched some e-government systems including e-visa, e-passport, e-procurement and e-D (departure) form for effective management of government bodies.

    To help build the entire e-government system for the country over the next few years, a South Korean consortium comprising two business companies reached a contract with the Myanmar communications authorities in June last year.

    According to the contract, the consortium, made up of Daewoo International Corporation and KCOMS, is to provide information and communication technology infrastructure for the Myanmar government to link its 38 ministries to a high-speed internet network and computerize its personnel management system.

    Myanmar's e-government project is implemented under the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement signed at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore in 2000 with the aim of narrowing the IT gap among the 10 regional members.

    Meanwhile, the authorities have projected to introduce 400 public internet service centers in 324 townships in the country within three years to facilitate communication links.

    According to the authorities, the number of internet users in Myanmar has reached nearly 300,000.

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    Myanmar presents film awards for 2005

    EastDay.com, China

    The Myanmar government yesterday evening presented 11 motion pictures academy awards for 2005 to the country's artists to encourage film production and bring up its quality.

    The film academy awards, presented by the Ministry of Information ceremonially for the first time in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw, was attended by First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Thein Sein and inaugurated by Minister of Information Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan.

    Of the 11 film awards scrutinized out of 16 movies produced during 2005, " Kyansittmin" received the best film award. The movie is based on the life of the ancient Bagan era monarch King Kyansittha who reigned from 1084 to 1113.

    The best director and scriptwriter awards both went to Kyi Soe Tun for the film "Hexagon."

    The best actor award was won by Lu Min for his role in the film" Kyansittmin", while the best actress award scored by Tun EaindraBo for her role in the film " Beyond Mogok Circle."

    Speaking at the ceremony, Kyaw Hsan urged producing quality Myanmar films to penetrate the international market and films that uplift dynamism of patriotic spirit.

    The Myanmar government presented in December 2005 also 11 motion pictures academy awards for 2004. Of the 11 film awards after scrutiny of 27 movies produced during that year, "Mystery of the Snow Story" received the best film award, while the best actor award went to Lwin Moe and the best actress award to Eindra Kyaw Zin.

    Myanmar formed the Motion Picture Promotion and Scrutiny Board in 1952 and since then 290 domestic academy awards have been presented to successful artists annually.

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